Ukraine ratifies convention it signed back in 1990
The Verkhovna Rada ratified on Thursday Convention No. 170 concerning safety in the use of chemicals at work, which Ukraine signed back in 1990. The ratification was supported by 259 lawmakers, according to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak of Golos.
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According to Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, the state has not taken any legal action to ratify the treaty over the past three decades.
"Ukraine signed the Convention back in 1990, but since then, no legal action has been taken to ratify it. Today we have to rectify the situation. In fact, this will be another step in building a new chemical safety system in our country," he said a few weeks before the vote.
In December 2022, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on ensuring chemical safety and management of chemical products in Ukraine. Prior to that, since 2015, this area in Ukraine had been regulated only by certain outdated technical regulations.
"There are more than 1,000 facilities in our country that use about 5,000 tons of chlorine and 213,000 tons of ammonia in their operations. Therefore, we must introduce a generally accepted international framework that will allow us to continue to move towards protecting people and the environment," said Strilets.
Ratification of the convention will allow to:
→ establish an international classification of chemicals and regulate the rules for their management
→ create a system of reliable management of chemicals in the workplace at all stages: from the production of such substances to their processing, storage, transportation, and disposal
→ define the scope of responsibility of employers, and establish the duties and rights of employees;
→ strengthen control over hazardous production facilities by both employers and the state;
→ define the responsibility of states that export chemicals to Ukraine.
